Oh my golly gosh, what a great way to spend an afternoon; with Dashti, of Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. I was lick-your-lips satisfied, full tummy replete, and just durn happy to be reading and then to have finished this tale. Why oh why did it sit on my shelf for so long?
Shannon Hale, I kiss your feet again, oh exalted one! You have done it !! What a great tale, a clear-voiced narrator, and an illustrated journal of the young mucker maid, Dashti. I think the author peeked into MY journal full of little drawings, thoughts and one-liners. Oh well, she sure makes it sound much better than I could ever dream of.
Because my words are so inept I will pull from the dust jacket for help in the synopsis:
"When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.
As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows."
With Shannon Hale's prose she can make these pages sing. I envy the young adults of today who have this as a standard for writing. How lucky to have a tale told like this!
I enjoyed the tower writing and the progression that the characters had during months of black, dark days. I also enjoyed the start of Part II and noticed that all was not well just because freedom was available. Shannon must have lived, dreamed and breathed these characters. What fun bedtime stories her kids must have!
After some mediocre reading so far this year I feel light and happy having finished a great story. If I were a star giving reviewer I would definitely give this one 5 stars, kudos, and kisses!
3 comments:
What a great review! If I hadn't already devoured it, I'd start reading now.
Perhaps I'll go read it again...
"Shannon Hale, I kiss your feet again, oh exalted one!"
I tell myself that I have reservations about reading everything an author writes, that eventually I'll be disappointed. I've loved some by Shannon Hale more than others, but I have yet to hate anything. She really is an incredibly talented writer. And a genuinely nice person. It's wonderful reading things by her, isn't it?
Anonymous, Thanks for checking in. I did so enjoy this book. I bet it's even better the second time around!
Melissa, Shannon Hale's writing feels like a warm cozy chair. She just seems to cradle the story and keep us cuddles up in it. If you like her books I read a book that Shannon suggested and I really fell in love with it. It was a slow start but it was worth wading through. It's called Faeries of Dreamdark, Blackbringer by Laini Taylor. A real fantasy (and I am not typically a huge fan) but it was different and a plus for this first time author! Thanks for stopping by!
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